| One point that I have not listed as either an advantage or
disadvantage is that, due to hardening of the copper wire when working with it, copper must generally
be cut off when it is removed, while aluminum can sometimes be
unwound from the branch or trunk. I feel that this is neither
an advantage nor a disadvantage, because to prevent damage to
the tree all wire should normally be cut off when it is removed,
whether it is copper or aluminum. |
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| The wire should be wrapped around the branch or trunk at approximately
a 45-degree angle (fig. 1). If the coils are too close together, the wire will not have any holding power when the branch is bent, if the coils are too far apart the wire may stay bent, but the branch
can pull away from the wire instead of being held in place.
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| Anchor the end of the wire in the soil at the base of the trunk when wiring the trunk or major lower branches. Wire two nearby branches with one wire, anchored with one or more turns around the trunk (fig. 2). When bending branches down the first turn of wire around the branch should come over the top of the branch (fig. 2). Conversely, the first turn should come under the branch when bending branches up.When wiring a trunk or large branch one can either use one large diameter wire, or two (or more) smaller diameter wires to help prevent breakage, apply the wire so that the wire coils around the outside of the bend or curve (fig. 3). |
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